Don’t Be Afraid of Your Story

5 January 2011 | Filed Under Tales from the Author's Desk 

If this little kid were J.R.R. Tolkien, we wouldn’t have the grand epic Lord of the Rings today…

No seriously, you can’t be afraid of your story. Writers have too many other problems without adding self-doubt to the list. Or at least story-doubt.

Too many writers I know are afraid to write. They kill their stories before they even have a chance to write them.

Don’t ditch your story because you think it’s terrible. First drafts won’t be perfect, so you shouldn’t judge it based only on what you’ve put on paper.

Besides, if you’re afraid of every story you imagine, you’ll never write another paragraph. You have to face your ideas head on, even when the words don’t flow, and the plot’s a tangled mess. You can work past it.

You are the first hurdle your story will ever face. Don’t slam it down before it has a chance to jump.

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One Response to “Don’t Be Afraid of Your Story”

  1. Tweets that mention Don’t Be Afraid of Your Story | A Single Bell -- Topsy.com on January 5th, 2011 9:12 pm

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lauren Orsini, Jenn. Jenn said: New Post: Don't Be Afraid of Your Story. Read it now at http://tinyurl.com/28o7hra [...]

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  • Welcome

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    Hi, I'm Jenn, new grad student and old YA fantasy writer. I've long dreamed of being a novelist, and I bet you have too. I hope you find my blog helpful, inspiring, and maybe just a little bit fun. (But not too much fun. Writing is serious business, you know.)

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  • Official Progress


    4/21 segments

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    Status: Second revision



    1,639/70,000 words
    A young noblewoman with strange powers must choose: her king or her soul.

    Status: First draft



    1,087/70,000 words
    When a girl's heart is stolen, she's plunged into a world of magic and shadows - but can she get her heart back before she loses it completely?

    Status: First draft





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